Department for Transport

Railways: Timetables

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what passenger data informed the new railway timetable service from 16 May for (1) Welwyn Garden City to London, (2) Huddersfield to Wakefield, and (3) Ilkley to Bradford, services.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Like other train operators, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Northern are continuously reviewing services to achieve the best possible balance between passenger demand and the resources available. A range of data sources is used by the operators to build up a holistic picture of customer demand.

Great British Railways

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourageprivate investment to the Great British Railways.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Great British Railways will get best value from the private sector, including restoring competition for passenger services contracts. Under the new industry structure, Great British Railways will engage with suppliers from a position of strength, offering high-value opportunities to the private sector to compete to deliver world-class solutions for passengers. Simpler procurement within a stable commercial environment will give the private sector confidence to engage and will help to remove barriers to investment and innovation.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy: Meters

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatplans they have to introduce a deficit fund to remove £1,000 off the annual bills of struggling households on pre-payment meters.

Lord Callanan: The energy price cap ensures 4.5 million prepayment meter customers pay a fair price for their energy. The Government announced a further £15 billion package of support to help with the cost of living on 26 May, on top of the £22 billion already announced this year. This means almost eight million most vulnerable households will get £1,200 of one-off support in total this year, with all domestic electricity customers receiving at least £400. The Ability to Pay principal set by Ofgem in the supply licence requires suppliers to provide appropriate support to households which are struggling to pay their energy bills by setting up repayment plans based on a customer’s ability to pay, and by directing them to further support services.

National Grid

Baroness Redfern: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to refit the electrical grid to handle different kinds of energy flows.

Lord Callanan: The Government recognises that the electricity network will require substantial investment and technical evolution to deliver a clean, secure and affordable British energy system. The British Energy Security Strategy includes proposals to accelerate the delivery of network infrastructure. Later this year, the Government and Ofgem will set out their approach to transform the network in more detail through the Electricity Network Strategic Framework.

Electrical Safety

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage routes-to-market for new fire and electrical safety technologies.

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage investment into technological solutions in the hazard prevention market.

Lord Callanan: Placing new or innovative products on the market requires the same product safety requirements to be met as is required for existing products. Guidance is available for businesses to help set what is required so that they have a clear route for getting their products to market. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), acts as the prime channel through which Government incentivises business-led technology innovation. It funds innovation through the allocation of competitively awarded grants and funding is available to all businesses undertaking innovation, irrespective of the technology or sector in which they are working. The UKRI Gateway, available via UKRI’s website, provides data on all funded research and innovation projects. Innovate UK also helps to connect innovative businesses with the right partners and expertise to help them bring their ideas to market, and grow and scale their companies, through the Knowledge Transfer Network and Innovate UK EDGE.

Motorway Service Areas: Fuels

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of allegations of profiteering in the retail sale of petrol and diesel, especially amongst motorway service stations; and what steps they will take to address such profiteering.

Lord Callanan: There are rules requiring transparency of petrol and diesel prices, including at motorway service stations so that prices are displayed before fuelling commences. Consumers can then make an informed purchase decision. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently stated that it stands ready to take action should there be evidence that competition or consumer protection law has been broken in the fuel retail market, and is monitoring the evidence closely. The CMA will continue to work with BEIS to analyse developments. This work will build on the knowledge base the CMA has accumulated during some of the recent mergers it has intervened on in this sector.

Business: Coronavirus

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatplans they have to ensure thatlocal authorities are co-operating on calculating the level of (1) fraud, and (2) error, in business support grants administered.

Lord Callanan: BEIS continues to work closely with Local Authorities to minimise the risk of fraud and error, and to take action where this does occur. Local Authorities are required to undertake assurance activity for all COVID-19 Business Grant schemes, to ensure that the recipients were eligible to receive the funds and that funds were paid correctly. Where it is identified that an award of a grant was non-compliant, funding issued will be subject to recovery and all cases of fraud will be pursued. The Assurance and Debt Recovery Guidance can be found on the COVID-19 Business Grants page at Gov.UK.

Department for Education

Higher Education: Care Leavers

Lord Farmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take, if any, to increase the number of care leavers at high tariff higher education institutions.

Baroness Barran: We have published guidance for higher education (HE) providers, setting out areas where care leavers are likely to need additional support, including examples of the types of additional support that have been put in place, drawing on best practice from across the sector. We have also introduced the Care Leaver Covenant, which enables organisations, including HE providers, to make offers of support to care leavers. The National Network for the Education of Care Leavers has developed the Quality Mark: a developmental accreditation process for universities and colleges to demonstrate their support for the inclusion and success of care experienced students. The Quality Mark has a focus on getting the right information to students on academic and pastoral support available to them, along with tailored mentoring and financial advice. As autonomous bodies independent from government, HE providers are responsible for their own admissions decisions. However, the department encourages HE providers to put the interests of students at the heart of their decision-making, including providing the appropriate support for care leavers. All HE providers in the approved (fee cap) category of the Office for Students’ (OfS) register are required to have an access and participation plan (APP) agreed by the Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS. In order to be approved, APPs must represent a credible, ambitious strategy to reduce gaps in access, participation and attainment for disadvantaged and under-represented groups. As care leavers are underrepresented within HE, APPs will often address specific interventions by the provider for improving equality of opportunity for care-experienced individuals. This may take the form of targeted outreach, additional pastoral, accommodation or financial support while studying, or support through mentorship or buddy schemes. Care leavers attending HE courses are treated as independent students when their entitlement to living costs is assessed. This means that in nearly all cases they will qualify for the maximum loan for living costs. Care leavers undertaking HE also qualify for a £2,000 HE bursary from their local authority. Additional bursaries are offered by some HE providers for care leavers in higher education. The enclosed attachment contains the department’s analysis of the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record showing the number of care leavers who entered courses at English HE providers in each academic year from 2018/19 to 2020/21. Coverage refers to entrants domiciled in England prior to study and care leavers are defined as codes 01 and 04 in the HESA care leaver collection documentation. Further information can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c20051/a/careleaver. The summary table below shows the number of care leavers who entered courses at high tariff[1] English HE providers in each year, along with total care leavers entering courses at all HE providers. A full breakdown by institution can be found in the attachment. Academic yearCare leavers entrants at high tariff providersCare leavers entrants at all providers2018/194353,5702019/205053,8952020/215804,290 We will take account of the recommendations from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, which is due to report shortly, when assessing what further support can be provided to increase the number of care leavers who attend university. [1] The tariff grouping used here is the same as that which the Office for Students defined in Annex A (pg 20) of their technicaly guidance, available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/6591e671-624a-4ebf-a5fb-1be904a5eb9f/technical-gudiance-to-accompany-provider-modelling-finalforweb.pdf.They are based on the average UCAS tariff score of their young (aged under 21) UK-domiciled undergraduate entrants in the 2012-13 to 2014-15 academic years. Providers in the top third of the ranking by average tariff score form the ‘High tariff’ group. HL298_table (xlsx, 45.2KB)

GCE A-level: Children in Care

Lord Farmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many looked after children (1) started, and (2) completed, A-Level courses in each of the last three years for which the data are available.

Lord Farmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they collect on the average level of educational attainment for looked after children (1) at Key Stage 5, and (2) in post-16 education.

Baroness Barran: The department does not hold information centrally on the types of qualifications looked-after children study and complete beyond key stage 4. The department does hold and publish information on pupils who were at the end of key stage 4 in the 2018/2019 academic year and reports on their destinations in the following academic year (2019/2020).The figures show in the 2019/20 academic year, 5,450 children looked after were in a sustained education destination in the year following the end of key stage 4. Of these, 2,910 were in further education, 860 were in a school sixth form or sixth form college and 1,240 were in some other form of education. The full figures can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d583af1d-ad7d-4f1f-990b-2b27586d6c69.The department does not hold information on the educational attainment of looked after children beyond key stage 4. Destinations of looked-after children (pdf, 12.9KB)

Higher Education: Care Leavers

Lord Farmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many care leavers entered high tariff higher education institutions in each of the last three years for which the data are available; and how many entered each institution.

Baroness Barran: The enclosed attachment contains the department’s analysis of the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record showing the number of care leavers who entered courses at English higher education providers (HEPs) in each academic year from 2018/19 to 2020/21. Coverage refers to entrants domiciled in England prior to study and care leavers are defined as codes 01 and 04 in the HESA care leaver collection documentation. Further information can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c20051/a/careleaver. The summary table below shows the number of care leavers who entered courses at high tariff[1] English HEPs in each year, along with total care leavers entering courses at all HEPs. A full breakdown by institution can be found in the attachment. Academic yearCare leavers entrants at high tariff providersCare leavers entrants at all providers2018/194353,5702019/205053,8952020/215804,290 [1] The tariff grouping used here is the same as that which the Office for Students defined in Annex A (pg 20) of their technical guidance, available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/6591e671-624a-4ebf-a5fb-1be904a5eb9f/technical-gudiance-to-accompany-provider-modelling-finalforweb.pdf.They are based on the average UCAS tariff score of their young (aged under 21) UK-domiciled undergraduate entrants in the 2012-13 to 2014-15 academic years. Providers in the top third of the ranking by average tariff score form the 'High tariff' group.HL300 table (xls, 92.0KB)

Academies

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many maintained schools were converted to academy status through sponsorship or other means from September 2010 to March 2022; and how many were converted in each academic year during that period.

Baroness Barran: As of March 2022, there were 9,205 open converter and sponsored academies. The tables attached show the annual net growth in the number of these schools from 2011 to March 2022, as well as the total number of converter and sponsored academies as of January each year.This information is derived from the annual School Census data available via School, Pupils, and their Characteristics. This can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/.Data from 2022 reflects those schools opened in January, February and March of this year and is derived from Get Information About Schools via this link: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Downloads. HL329_table1 (pdf, 13.9KB)HL329_table2 (pdf, 9.0KB)

Special Educational Needs

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Review.

Baroness Barran: The department published the special educational needs and disabilities review on 29 March 2022.We have also launched a full, accessible 16-week consultation so that everyone can have their say and the department is keen to hear from a wide range of stakeholders and interested parties. We are making sure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their parents can respond, as well as people working in education, health and care, and charities and other experts.

Free School Meals

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that funding for free school meals is extended through to secondary school.

Baroness Barran: All maintained schools and academies, including primary and secondary schools fund benefit-related free school meals (FSM) from their core funding which they receive through the schools block of the dedicated schools grant and is derived from the national funding formula.For the 2022/23 academic year the department will allocate £470 of funding to local authorities for each of the pupils in their area eligible for FSM. Local authorities then distribute this money to schools through their local funding formula, which must include additional funding for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as those eligible for FSM.It is then for schools to decide how to use their budget, including how much to allocate to pay for benefits-based FSM.

Children: Social Services

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Action for ChildrenToo little, too late: early help and early intervention spending in England, published on 28 February.

Baroness Barran: The ‘Too Little, Too Late’ report recommends an increase in funding for a range of early intervention services. This year, the government announced a £500 million package to give families effective support earlier by creating a network of family hubs in half of the council areas in England and helping up to 300,000 more vulnerable families through the Support Families programme.The report’s other recommendations include a legal duty for early help and additional data collection on early help. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care has now set out its final recommendations, and we will consider those relevant to early help to inform any next steps.

Academies

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total cost of converting maintained schools to academy status through sponsorship or other means from September 2010 to March 2022; and what was the average cost of converting each school to academy status during that period.

Baroness Barran: As of March 2022, the department has spent £495 million through our academies pre-opening grants to support schools to become academies. Average costs will vary significantly by project. The department has a range of available grants with set tariffs that contribute towards the costs to support schools to convert.From 2010, the converter pre-opening grant has been set at £25,000 per academy.The level of funding for sponsored pre-opening grants has varied since 2010, when the academies programme began to expand. From 2010 to 2013, the average award for sponsored academies was determined on a case-by-case basis. To ensure greater consistency and drive efficiencies, set tariffs for sponsored academies were established in 2013. Sponsored academies are now eligible for grants ranging from £70,000 to £150,000 per academy.Cost of Sponsored and Converter Academies from 2010 to March 2022Financial YearCosts2010-11£67m2011-12£67m2012-13£65m2013-14£59m2014-15£48m2015-16£26m2016-17£54m2017-18£38m2018-19£30m2019-20£16m2020-21£15m2021-22£10mTotal£495m

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Israel: Palestinians

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Reporters Without Borders that there have been more than 140 instances of violence by Israeli security forces against journalists in Friday protests since March 2018.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is committed to the protection of media freedom around the world. The safety of journalists across the globe is vital and they must be protected when carrying out their critical work. We continue to reiterate the importance of a free and open press, and freedom of expression to the Israeli Government and Palestinian Authority. We also continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population.

East Africa: Humanitarian Aid

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what amount of humanitarian aid was delivered to (1) Kenya, (2) Sudan, (3) Ethiopia, and (4) Somalia for the years (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, and (d) 2022.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK provided the following amounts of humanitarian aid:Financial year (FY) 2019/2020 - Kenya £36 million, Sudan £60 million, Ethiopia £77 million, Somalia £64 million;FY 2020/2021 - Kenya £31 million, Sudan £66 million, Ethiopia £102 million, Somalia £70 million;FY 2021/2022 - Kenya £15 million, Sudan £28 million, Ethiopia £80 million, Somalia £46 million.In addition, in FY 2020/2021, the UK provided £23 million to support desert locust response activities across the region.

East Africa: Humanitarian Aid

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide humanitarian aid to East Africa following reports of impending famine conditions in the region.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Approximately 480,000 people in Ethiopia and Somalia are now experiencing famine-like conditions. The situation is extremely grave.The UK is a major humanitarian donor to the East Africa region. In 2022 to support communities affected by drought plus flooding and conflict the UK has provided £72 million to Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan. Across the region UK funded humanitarian activities are making a difference and saving lives. In Kenya the UK is providing 26,000 children with life-saving nutritional support. In Ethiopia a further 200,000 children and pregnant and lactating women in southern and eastern regions will receive similar aid.The UK also played a critical role in convening the recent UN Horn of Africa Drought Roundtable which took place in late April in Geneva. This included working with states in the region and the UN to ensure appropriate levels of participation. It helped to bring much needed focus on the drought and it mobilised roughly US$400 million in new funding.Countries across the Horn of Africa will also be impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine due to the increase in the costs of food commodities and fuel on global markets. We are exploring how we can help lessen the impact of rising food prices caused by the war in Ukraine on vulnerable communities in East Africa. This includes assessing alternate markets for procurement of food supplies and working with UN partners to promote effective prioritisation so assistance reaches the neediest.Our response to the drought builds on long-established resilience building programmes in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. In Kenya this includes support to the Hunger Safety Programme, which has provided 600,000 people in drought prone areas with regular financial assistance. In Ethiopia, the UK funded Productive Safety Net Programme has benefitted some 8 million people via financial welfare provision and community public works projects. In Somalia the UK has been assisting over 220 rural communities with sustainable support for internally displaced persons. These programmes, coupled with additional investments, have enabled the UK to reach nearly 8 million people as a part of its emergency humanitarian response.

Nigeria: Terrorism

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the joint report by the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, International Organisation for Peacebuilding and Social Justice and Christian Solidarity InternationalBreaking Point in Central Nigeria? Terror and Mass Displacement in the Middle Belt, published in March.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We welcome this report and its recognition that the underlying drivers of violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt are complex. The Minister for Africa visited Nigeria in February 2022 and raised rising insecurity and its impact on the Nigerian people in meetings with the Vice President, Foreign Minister and several State Governors. The Minister was pleased to be able to meet with a range of interlocutors, including faith and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) leaders, who are working towards peace in Nigeria's Middle Belt. In all these meetings, the Minister reiterated the UK's commitment to working with actors across Nigeria to address violence, protect human rights, and promote dialogue and respect between different ethnic and religious communities. We continue to encourage the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Low Incomes

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reinstate the £20 a week uplift in universal credit to help those on low incomes.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: There are no plans to reinstate the temporary increase to Universal Credit. The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and these are global challenges, but the government has taken action to support and help families with a package worth over £37 billion in 2022-23. These steps help ensure that on average a person in work is £6000 better off in work than on benefits. And we stand ready to do more as the situation evolves.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Horticulture: Migrant Workers

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue agricultural visas for picking and processing fruit and vegetables to female Ukrainian workers; and what consideration they have given to housing any such individuals in RAF Linton-on-Ouse.

Lord Benyon: The Home Office already operates such an immigration route. The Seasonal Worker visa scheme, which has been extended to 2024, allows overseas workers to come to the UK for up to six months to harvest both edible and ornamental crops. 30,000 visas will be available in 2022, and this is being kept under review with the potential to increase by 10,000 visas if there is evidence of need. The Seasonal Workers visa route is managed by four scheme operators. The scheme operators select, sponsor and monitor migrants, and adhere to all Home Office requirements in practice, including those on migrant safety and welfare. Under the scheme, licenced operators can recruit workers of any nationality or gender from any EU or non-EU country, including from Ukraine. The operators of the Seasonal Worker visa route manage accommodation arrangements and must ensure that all workers are housed in safe hygienic accommodation and many UK farms are already set up for accommodating seasonal workers on site for the spring and summer months. Only asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute will be accommodated in the new reception centre at RAF Linton-On-Ouse. On 24 February the Government announced that all Ukrainian nationals on an existing seasonal worker visa will have their leave in the UK extended to 31 December 2022 and can now switch to the Ukraine Extension Scheme visa if eligible. Under the Ukraine Extension Scheme those who are successful in their application can stay in the UK for up to three years and will be able to live, work and study in the UK and access public funds. Further details on eligibility can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-to-stay-in-the-uk-under-the-ukraine-extension-scheme. A copy of the guidance is also attached to this answer. Ukrainian women who are currently in the UK and have a right to work here can also access agricultural jobs through the Department for Work and Pensions’ Find A Job website.Ukraine Extension Scheme (pdf, 126.4KB)

Home Office

Visas: Russia

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Russian citizens designated under any UK sanctions regime since Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 have held Tier 1 (Investor) visas.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how may Russiancitizens designated under any Russia-related international sanctions regime imposed following Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 have held Tier 1 (Investor) visas.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We do not comment on national security matters, nor do we comment on individual cases.

Deportation: Jamaica

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each of the last four flights carrying deported Jamaican nationals, how many such individuals were on each flight.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Jamaican nationals will be deported on the special charter flight to Jamaica on 18 May.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how old each Jamaican national deported to Jamaica on each of the last four flights was when they first came to the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Our priority will always be to keep our communities safe, and we make no apology for seeking to remove those with no right to remain in the UK and foreign criminals. Since January 2019 we have removed 10,017 foreign criminals from the UK. Information on the number of Jamaican foreign national offenders returned from the UK is available from Immigration statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) in table Ret_D03, which can be found attached. A person’s age upon arrival to the UK or their nationality are not exceptions to automatic deportation under the Borders Act 2007, but may be relevant factors, in addition to the strength of their social, cultural and family ties in the UK, in considering whether a human rights exception applies. All those deported will have been provided with the opportunity to raise claims, which are fully considered and determined prior to removal including, where applicable, via the Courts. We do not routinely comment on individual cases.Ret_D03 (xlsx, 412.4KB)